Rotary road brush



Oct. 6, 1959 H. R. ERICKSON ROTARY ROAD BRUSH Filed Jan. 15, 1958 INVENT OR. Jazz/ 1? fiz'afirz BY a ATTOP/VfV-J' United States Patent O ROTARY ROAD BRUSH Henry R. Erickson, St. Paul Park, Minn.

Application January 15, 1958, Serial No. 709,069

1 Claim. (Cl. 15-198) My invention relates to brush construction and more particularly to rotary heavy duty sweeping brushes.

Still more specifically my invention relates to heavy duty rotary street sweeping brushes and the like, of the type wherein the brush elements or bristles are formed from steel wires.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of a highly eflicient and durable structure of the type immediately above described which incorporates a minimum of working parts and is extremely rugged and durable.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a device of the class above described which is not unduly expensive to produce and which may be maintained at a minimum of cost and at a minimum of expense.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a device of the class above described wherein the several brush elements may be formed from lengths of standard steel cable and which brush elements may be quickly replaced with a minimum of skill and training.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a rotary wire brush comprising an elongated tubular cylindrical core element, a plurality of axially and circumferentially spaced radially outwardly opening sockets secured to the peripheral surface of said core element and defining a continuous row which extends helically about the periphery of said core element from end to end thereof, each of the sockets comprising the row being elongated in the direction of the row and having removable anchoring pins extending transversely through their intermediate portions, and U-shaped brush elements the intermediate portions of which are formed from tightly twisted wire cable and the free ends of which are unraveled to provide enlarged work-engaging tufts, the intermediate portions of said brush elements being folded upon themselves to provide U-shaped anchors seated in said sockets and extending between the core elements and their respective anchoring pins, and means on opposite ends of said core element journaling same for rotation.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a device of the class immediately above described wherein opposite longitudinal ends of said socket adjacent said core element are radially outwardly spaced from said core element whereby to define therewith discharge openings for the escape of any dirt which may tend to accumulate in said sockets.

The above and still further objects of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claim and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of my novel structure, some parts being broken 'away and some parts shown in section;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the structure of Fig. l, with some parts removed, some parts broken away and some parts shown in section;

ice

Fig. 3 is anenlarged view in end elevation as seen from the line 3.3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in section as seen substantially from the line 4.-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring with greater particularity to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates a cylindrical drum-like core which is journaled for rotation by means of a shaft 2 which extends axially therethrough and is secured fast thereon. Rigidly secured to the peripheral surface 3 of the core 1 are a plurality of radially outwardly opening elongated sockets 4 which are arranged to define one being preferably formed by cutting a conventional length of steel pipe of flattened cross section at right angles to the longitudinal dimension thereof to provide identical sections. The parallel flattened side walls of the sockets 4 are identified by the numeral 6, whereas the rounded opposite end walls are identified by the numeral 7.

The sockets 4 are positioned upon the cylindrical surface 3 of the core 1 so that they are circumferentially elongated generally in the direction of rotation, to wit: counterclockwise with respect to Fig. 1 as seen from left to right thereof, preferably at an angle to such direction of rotation. The normally open inner ends 8 of the sockets 4 are then welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the peripheral surface 3 of the core 1 only at their point of engagement therewith, as indicated by the numeral 10 whereby the leading and trailing end walls 7 tangentially overlie said surface 3, thus leaving openings identified by the numeral 8a between the sockets 4 and the core 1 both forwardly and reaiwardly of the welded areas 10. In this manner, any dirt which may tend to lodge in the sockets 4 is dropped out therefrom through the openings 8a when the sockets 4 are in an upwardly disposed position and centrifugal force does not overcome the action of gravity. This self-cleaning feature is extremely important. The open outer ends of the sockets 4 are identified by the numeral 9.

Extending transversely through the intermediate portion of the parallel side walls 6 of the sockets 4 are removable cotter key equipped anchoring pins 11. U- shaped brush elements, identified in their entirety by the numeral 12, are formed from lengths of conventional steel cable, the intermediate portions 13 being tightly twisted and bent backwardly upon themselves to provide U-shaped anchors which are seated in said sockets and extend between the peripheral surface 3 of the core element 1 and their respective anchoring pins 11. It will be noted that the closely spaced free ends of the brush elements 12 are unraveled to provide enlarged work-engaging tufts 14 which collectively define a substantially uninterrupted cylindrical sweeping surface at their outer ends.

The angular disposition of the elongated sockets 4 positions the tuft-forming free ends 14 of the brush elements 12 substantially as shown in Fig. 1, whereby dirt picked up under sweeping action, as the brush is rotated in a clockwise direction, will be caused to accumulate adjacent the right side thereof. This arrangement makes it possible to mount the shaft 2 on an axis normal to the direction of travel, whereas it is generally normally necessary to mount a sweeping brush angularly with respect to the path of travel.

My invention has been thoroughly tested and found to be completely satisfactory for the accomplishment of the above objects and while I have shown a preferred embodiment thereof, I wish it to be understood that same is capable of modification without departure from the scope and spirit of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A rotary wire brush comprising an elongated cylindrical core element, a plurality .ofaxially and circumierentially spaced radially outwardly opening sockets secured to the'cylindrical surface of said core element and defining continuous rows which extend helically about the periphery of the core from end to end thereof, each of said sockets being formed from flattened normally open ended pipe sections and being positioned upon the cylindrical surface of said core elements so that each thereof is elongated generally in the direction of rotation, the trailing and leading ends of each of said sockets being in overlying spaced relationship to said cylindrical core surfaceand defining therewith dirt release outlets communicating with the interior of said sockets, means intermediate said outlets rigidly securing'each of said sockets to said cylindrical core surface, removable anchoring pins extending transversely through the intermediate portion of said flattened side walls, and U-shaped brush elements the intermediate portions of which are formed from tightly twisted wire cable and the free ends of which are unraveled to provide enlarged work-engaging tufts, the intermediate portions of said brush elements being folded upon themselves to provide U-shaped anchors seated in said sockets and extending between the core element and their respective anchoring pins.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 440,114 Pederson Nov. 4, 1890 843,222 Luther Feb. 5, 1907 1,178,179 Rosrnesen Apr. 4, 1916 1,450,534 Wright Apr. 3, 1923 1,493,670 Galvin May 13, 1924 2,251,294 Shank Aug. 5, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 289,181 Germany Dec. 8, 1915 771,017 France n July 16, 1934 

